At a ceremony held outside the Hungarian National Museum on 15 March, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the fifteenth of March is irrefutable proof that we were, we are and we will be: “this is our triumph”.1848 has become our inner touchstone, and our moral compass

Praising the revolution of 169 years ago, Mr. Orbán said that its importance lies not only in the fact that it happened, but also in the fact that it has been happening ever since. The Prime Minister noted that 1848 has become Hungarians’ inner touchstone and moral compass. “The touchstone and compass of 1848 indicate to this day the measure of every person in terms of their homeland: who is loyal, who is a patriot, who is committed, and who is brave”, the Prime Minister said. He added that they show us what greatness is, as well as what pettiness is; what falsehood is, and what it means to kill dreams; what it is to build our country, and what it is to destroy it.

The touchstone of 1848 defines our personal positions within the nation, the Prime Minister said, and it equally defines our position among nations. He added that Hungarians have reason to be proud of their position, which they deserve.

Mr. Orbán said that 1848 does not stand as a lone island in the river of Hungarian history: it is a link between Rákóczi’s War of Independence and October 1956.

The fifteenth of March stands as irrefutable proof that we were, we are and we will be

“We here in the Carpathian Basin – in a zone where cultures, empires and civilisations clash – can boast the greatest possible victory”, the Prime Minister said. He observed that in the end Hungarians have always won the war for the survival of the homeland and the survival of the nation, and that “Defying the will of all others, we are here”. And now, he said, “our family selfie shows the image of a victorious nation”.

“Although we may have lost many important battles, we have not been defeated”, Mr. Orbán said, but the forces which won battles and campaigns against Hungary eventually lost the war: the Tartars are lost without trace, the enormous Ottoman Empire wasted away, the Habsburg Empire evaporated, and the Soviet colossus simply perished. “Enormous empires, where is your sting now?” he asked.

In his opinion, 15 March stands as irrefutable proof that we were, we are and we will be: “this is our glorious victory”. Welcoming attendees from Poland, Mr. Orbán said that “It is important for us that you are here with us today once again – as you were in ’48”.

He went on to say that every nation celebrates in accordance with its own character: some organise festivals and others give parties. He added that “our Hungarian national holiday, which greets the Spring, is imbued with cheerful gravity”.

Photo: Gergely Botár/kormany.hu

The winds of 1848 are blowing once again in Europe today

The Prime Minister said that on this day 2,061 years ago an assassination shook Ancient Rome; in the spring of 1848 revolutions broke out; now, too, the peoples of Europe are in rebellion.

He noted “Signs which always convey the same message: there is trouble in the empire”. Over the past year, he observed, the nations have again rebelled “against the hypocritical alliance of Brussels bureaucrats, the global liberal media and international capital with its insatiable appetite”. First there were the British, then the Americans, he said, adding that there is more to come this year.

The Prime Minister took the view that in Europe today the winds of 1848 are blowing once again, and we can still keep the energy of rebellion “within constitutional boundaries, and reform the European empire profoundly, but peacefully”. First of all, “the masks of hypocrisy” in Brussels must be removed, and there needs to be straight talking and open debate on the future. “The machinations hidden behind fine principles must come to an end”, he said.

In his words, “something can come of Hungarians if we understand the essence of the Twelve Points, which runs thus: ‘Let there be peace, freedom and accord!’ Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, something can come of Hungarians if we understand the essence of the twelve points, as it runs thus: Let there be peace, freedom and accord! Yes, but what are we to do with those who do not want peace but unrest, not accord but division? What are we to do with those whose only joy – as we see today as well – is to ruin the joy of others? It would be easy to make fun of them. We could say that they’re too full of wind. But let us not do that, because strength and numbers demand restraint of us. Our business is with the building of a nation, not with the jostling of pint-sized political parties”.

Looking at the situation from the vantage point of the Hungarian nation, Hungarians can choose one of two paths, he said: the path leading to the wide gate of national greatness, or the one leading to the swamp of hatred. Time is truth, and decides what is not true, he added.

Photo: Gergely Botár/kormany.hu

Brussels must be stopped

“Perhaps neither the past nor the future of the Hungarian nation matters to Brussels and international capital – but they matter to us. Perhaps the security of the European people does not matter to Brussels and international capital – but it matters to us. Perhaps whether or not we remain Hungarian does not matter to Brussels and international capital – but it matters to us”, the Prime Minister said.

He continued by saying that this is what is at stake in today’s European rebellion, and that Hungarians must bravely fight the battles that lie ahead of them in defence of their independence and national sovereignty. Brussels must be stopped, and Hungary’s borders must be protected, he stressed. Mr. Orbán also pointed out that Hungary must prevent the resettlement of migrants, it must introduce transparency to networks that receive their funding from abroad, and it must keep the right to regulate taxes, wages and household utility charges. In this Hungarians can only rely on themselves, and therefore they must continue to keep responsibility for governance in the hands of national powers, the Prime Minister stated.

He also stressed that every nation can only be happy in a way determined by its nature, and Hungarians can only achieve happiness if they follow the path of freedom and independence.

“For us, a country without freedom and independence is not home, and a Hungarian is not a type that can be happy in a country which is not home”, he said.

Photo: Gergely Botár/kormany.hu

The unity we have created must be made to function, and extended

He also said that “nation” not only means a shared language, culture and a past, but also means the totality of the moments when the trials of history weld hearts into a unity.

“This is why in recent years we have become a strong nation again. The fight we fought for our national and Christian constitution has welded our hearts together. Our rebellion against debt slavery has welded our hearts together. Our struggle for economic independence has welded our hearts together. And the battle in which we beat back the mass migration besieging Europe and in which we stayed the hand of Brussels as it reached to open the gates from within has welded our hearts together ”, the Prime Minister said.

“We stand on our own feet and we eat our own bread. We are not the servants of either Hungarian or foreign powers. We have given work to hundreds of thousands of people. We have strengthened families. We have broken through barriers of class, background, age, religion and political belief, and we have created genuine national unity. We have done all this in the teeth of threats and protests from the alliance of hypocrites”, he added.

Mr. Orbán stressed, however, that there is no unity which can be maintained without the need to work hard day after day, and there is no achievement that will defend itself. “We have to defend our achievements ourselves”, the Prime Minister stated. He also said that a country is never complete, nothing is ever given away for free, and competitors do not hand over anything on the basis of goodwill: not position, opportunity, work, profits or prosperity. Hungarians are the ones responsible for the functioning of their unity, and every day they must extend and rebuild it, Mr. Orbán said.

Photo: Gergely Botár/kormany.hu

In closing, he pointed out that the Hungarian nation is strengthening and rising, and, through its talent and hard work, it will rightly receive recognition among the community of European nations: “The name of Hungary will again be a fine one, worthy of its great fame in days gone by. Long live Hungarian freedom, long live the homeland!”